From 1897 to 1898, the town was the site of a swindle in the sale of stock in the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company, the brainchild of Reverend Prescott Jernegan and Charles Fisher of
Martha's Vineyard.[8] Jernegan claimed to have developed a method of using "accumulators" to get gold from sea water, and bought an old grist mill to turn it into a factory. The scheme attracted an abundance of investors, who were all too eager to funnel money into the company after being promised astronomical returns. In the summer of 1898, work was suspended without explanation at the factory. Jernegan and Smith vanished, and the fraud was gleefully exposed by newspapers across New England.[8]

Lubec reached its population peak in the 1910s and 20s, hovering a little above 3,300 during this era. Since then, the population has generally been in a gradual but steady decline, and currently sits at a little over 1,300.

Sites of interest

Climate

Lubec has a
humid continental climate with mild summers and cold winters. Generally speaking, it's cold for its coastline position at 44 degrees latitude, but milder in winter than nearby
Machias due to moderate warming by the adjacent waters of the Atlantic.

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the town was $20,565, and the median income for a family was $26,098. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $19,375 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $13,081. About 20.3% of families and 28.8% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 49.6% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the
census[2] of 2010, there were 1,359 people, 682 households, and 356 families residing in the town. The
population density was 40.9 inhabitants per square mile (15.8/km2). There were 1,147 housing units at an average density of 34.5 per square mile (13.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.7%
White, 0.1%
African American, 0.2%
Native American, 0.3%
Asian, 0.3% from
other races, and 1.4% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.0% of the population.

There were 682 households of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were
married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.8% were non-families. Of all households 41.9% were made up of individuals and 20.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.58.

The median age in the town was 54 years. 14.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 16.4% were from 25 to 44; 36.9% were from 45 to 64; and 28.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

Education

Lubec Consolidated School belongs to Maine School Administrative District #19. James Underwood is the Superintendent of Schools.[14]